The Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW), sometimes referred to as the superinformation highway, provide data processing system users with a global communication link to a continually increasing number of databases and other network users. The local link between the network and the user is typically by way of a phone line, with the workstation hardware including a modem that allows dial-up access between the user and a remote party. Since the workstation is coupled directly to a phone line, not only can the workstation access any other party having similar network access, but any other party can call the workstation.
More particularly, as diagrammatically illustrated in FIG. 1, a user workstation 10 is typically coupled via a communication link 11 to a local area network (LAN) 20 by way of a local area network interface 13. The interface 13 also serves to provide access to an external network 30. The local area network 20 customarily includes one or more computer-based units, such as the illustrated workstations 21 and 22, network server 23 and printer 24, which are interconnected via a hub 25. Hub 25 is connected to interface 13, so that the end user workstation 10 may access any unit of the local area network 20. Similarly, to connect to the external area 30 network (e.g. Internet) interface 13 is coupled through an electronic mail gateway 32 and a modem 33, so that a dial-up connection may be provided to an Internet connection provider 34, through which direct access to the Internet 35 is achieved.
Because the telephone network is a potential window into any computer linked to it, it is customary to both wrap or embed all communications in a `security blanket` (some form of encryption) at the source end, and to employ one or more permission code (password) layers that must be used to gain access to another (destination) computer. Unfortunately, the integration of multiple and diverse application programs to meet user demands for flexibility and versatility in workstation functionality constitutes an impairment to the use of such embedded security measures, either within the data communication mechanism or at the point of program execution.